Hey guys, I'm sure there's plenty of members out there, like myself, wondering what fish will be next up on the shopping list. And, no matter what the sites selling them say, there's nothing like first hand experience.

What I'm looking for are visually entertaining fish. Any quirky, interesting, generally not-shy behavior is optimal.. you know.. something fun to watch! (that is why we started a tank, isn't it)

So far, the two I've come up with are:

goby/shrimp combo - more so the shrimp, I suppose, but any symbiosis is great, imo.
blue chromis - friendlier than the greener versions, apparently like to be flashy in the mid-upper area in the tank

What've you guys come up with in your experience? What are good (or, I suppose, bad) fish for keeping our reefs fun to watch?

ftw!

that.. is an epic pic.

Only fish I own that I would consider a pet. Great personality.

what kind of fish is that? Please forgive my noob-ness

Yeah, I would say some sort of blenny. I love watching my lawnmower chomp down on the rocks and glass. He has a ton of personality!

'Eyelash blenny' was the name on the sign when I bought him.

WOW THAT IS BEAUTIFUL!

If you don't mind what does a fish like that cost?

those ARE some balla eyelashes haha

I think it was only 15 bucks, 20 tops.

Sweet, thanks

Firefish are fairly active if there aren't any aggressive/semi-aggressive fish. Mine was always out in the open when it was alone; they will also flick their dorsal fins like a signal.

If you have a larger nano (I'd say at least 30 gallons) and aren't to attached to small fish, I love my Fuzzy Dwarf. Watching him herd food is amazing.

Probably not SPS friendly, either. But, a thought all the same.

You gotta get a shrimp and a goby. Moster interesting pair you'll ever get.

Well shrimps/gobie pairs and blennies are nice I guess...... But for me, hands down the fish with the most personality is the Blue Spot Jawfish. I mean, come on.....

Does your blenny wave at you when you come in to the room like my BSJF does?


Or does he throw a Birthday Party for you, like mine does?


Mine will also eat from my hand. If you're willing to meet their demands, these fish are very entertaining with their antics!

I know it is not really nano or reef but...



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I LOVE MY PORCUPINE!

My Red Head Goby is a character. He greets me when I peek in the tank and he's constantly hoping around everywhere.

I would agree with blenny or firefish.... I have a lawnmower blenny who is a gas to watch! at first glance they are not the prettiest of the blennys but you look up close they really have some great highlighting colors. I also have a Purple firefish that is always out and about when the light are on, but if bothered by any other fish it will hide quickly and be there for a while. I am a fan of the purples which do cost a little more then the red looking ones.
The only other fish I could personally recommend tho "MAY" have a problem in a reef, would be a cherub pygmy angle.. I have had one for a little while now and it is amazing how much that little guy is running all over the tank, picking at the rocks constantly.. I have not had it bully any fish, but hasn't backed down from anyone messing with it. Even though I think my lawnmower blenny could fit half of it in its mouth

Blenny= 20$
Purple Firefish= 35@
Cherub= 25$

My Starry Benny had lots of personality until I added my Kole tang. All it does is hide from it now. I do agree with Basser that a Blue Spotted Jawfish as the most entertaining fish. While mine has been annoying me with all his digging and burying my corals, he is such a character. I think if you add him fish before anything else and have him get settled, he would be the best fish you'll ever own. Just watching him spit his balled up poop out of his burrow is entertaining enough.

Also a Frogfish is one entertaining fish as well in a different way. Watching him move around and stalking his prey is a thing of beauty.

Omg i almost died laughing.

you have to feed arlequin shrimp with sea stars! How do you feed that thing? Do you buy sea star for it all the time?

What ever you do don't buy fire shrimp. They are as boring as they get and always stay hiding lol!

LOL!! Yours does that to??

While I love my tail spot blenny and will always have a soft spot for perching blennies, I think clownfish are some of the most entertaining fish out there.
My ORA occelaris clowns have tons of personality and greet me when I walk up to the tank. They aren't afraid of anything and beg for food when I'm doing maintenance or dosing the tank. So much more personality than my brother's overly aggressive clarkii's.

Yeah I've heard that about the fire shrimp.. and for the hefty price tag, almost seems like a waste haha

Cool info on the BSJ and blennies. For whatever reason, I always was under the impression that jawfish didn't have much going on for them. Apparently not the case!

the harlequin pair that i had in my (now defunct) 8G were fantastic! so active and interesting to watch!

Both very entertaining.....


Lawnmower blenny staring me down

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Spongy decorator crab being caught by surprise...Yes I know...far from reef safe.

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yeah deco crabs are pretty awesome.. a little to scary for my blood, right now, though

How often does he redecorate himself?

She (my wife declared it female) came with most of the yellow polyps on her back so I got a crab and a nice frag of yellow polyps at the same time.

Every so often she will try to add one of my zoas to her back but the yellow polyps kill it off. As of recently her and my other crabs have been very sick (lost my Sally Light foot yesterday) so she has not been very active as I try to track down WTH is wrong.

Yeah. I was surprised when he first did it. I was like WTF was that? Then my Kole tang started picking on it and I figured it was poop. He also does this thing where he floats over his burrow and this brown stuff comes out of his stomach area and it looks like he is peeing. I have never seen any other fish pee so it's pretty weird.

That is what he's doing, I've noticed mine doing that as well. That's one reason why it's important to stay on top of water changes. Can't have all of that ammonia building up!

wow.. well I hope you get it fixed up, sounds like that's one that would suck to lose.

Keep the info goin I'm enjoying this thread.

i lost a crab and 2 hermits to finds a F****** screw in the good damn tank...cooper kills

Considering your tank size I would say that a great all around fish to watch is a sixline. They are easy to find, beautiful and very active. It is fun to watch them squeeze into obscure places. I also agree that clowns and blennies are good for personality too.

Yeah +1,000,000 on the clowns, firefish, six line, blennys and gobys. I know almost everyone has a clown, but there is a reason for it. They are reasonably priced, have tons of personality, are hardy, and aren't afraid of anything (so they're always out and about). Clowns are especially nice if you have something they will host. I have a torch coral that my pair hosts and its pretty cool to see.

If you have over 30 gallon a pigmy angel would be nice. Hit or miss with reef. I have a flame angel and its all over the place; not to mention the coloring is great. I would also recommend a firefish (purple) they are also always swimming around and show tons of personality.

I would recommend going to a really good LFS to check out some different types of fish and when you find a few you like go home and research their needs and then make a decision. Good luck!

I would not recommend damsels (other than clown fish) because they are very territorial.

Yea good point on the sixline. Only problem with them is they can sometimes be aggressive towards other fish.
My old sixline was a model citizen though in my old 55g. Never bothered any other fish. Just wanted to zoom through the rockwork and eat whatever was in front of his face.

Got a YWG and red colored tiger Pistol. Good times.

Bumping this thread to get some more input going

What are some thoughts on blennies? Specifically midas and bicolor.. they seem pretty cool.

I my Scooter Blenny

I've only had my bicolor blenny for a couple days, but I could sit and watch him all day. He was hiding the whole time at the store and I was afraid he'd be reclusive, but from the minute I got him fed he has been very outgoing. He's got a favorite perch fairly out in the open and just sits and watches. Great fun.

Edit: Got to pull him out of my overflow today, that adds to the entertainment factor I guess....

I plan on getting a mated pair of these. Good or bad idea? (based on the thread subject)

I love my Tail Spot blenny. Great personality, a lot of fun to watch.